This Old Tale
by lostshadowthief
Summary: Story line remains the same but with some apparent twists, please don't judge based on a poor summary!
1. Chapter 1

Heavy footsteps echoed down the long hallway and as each step grew close, her body tensed within her restraints. Lauren heard the steel reinforced door open on its rusty hinges. With every energy reserve she had left, she looked at the man standing in front of her. "I'm glad you finally learned some respect," a harsh voice spat. Lauren stared, unwavering. "You walk around all high and mighty thinking you rule the world, like you actually mean something. Do you know how honored I felt when the Ash personally asked me to take care of his pet for him?" Again, nothing from the exposed human. "Get up, you pathetic piece of shit." Lauren knew she couldn't get up; she had been doing a mental check of herself for the conscious hours within her confinement. "Are you deaf, I said get up!" An unforgiving hand closed around her throat and pinned her up against the wall. The blonde closed her eyes trying to relax her body, from her assessment, she had broken at least four ribs, a fractured wrist, bruised if not cracked skull and had fractures throughout her legs. Any tensing in her body would make the blows she faced even worse, so she was forced to take it each punch at a time. She would take it, she always had and always would.

The Fae saw Dr. Lewis as weak, submissive, someone who kept herself constantly on lockdown. In truth, she was a very passionate person, arguably stronger than all other Fae. The Fae could be impulsive, act on whim not having to think too far ahead about their repercussions. The doctor on the other hand, while not a fighter by nature had a few tricks up her sleeve that not even the Ash knew about it.

Inhaling deeply, the good doctor readied herself for what she anticipated would be the final blow she would take to the temple, but it never came. Instead, she heard a bark she was all too familiar with, the Ash's right hand man. "You incompetent fool! I said teach her a lesson, jeez. Golems, am I right?" The man in front of Dr. Lewis had an oblong face with black hair slicked back in a short ponytail. "The Ash still needs her working tomorrow or was your head too far up your ass to hear that?" _Working, tomorrow_. Lauren chuckled to herself internally, but dared not let that show on the outside. From day one, Lauren was taught her place and while her resilient (arguably naïve) mind clung on to some chance of hope she kept her emotions on lock down and her body language controlled. Suffice to say, that all changed when a beyond beautiful brunette came into the equation.

Bo. The ballsy unaligned succubus, the one that Lauren risked herself for. The one that gave her a sliver of hope that things would be okay. In the beginning, she was fine with seeing her for regular checkups, but soon it wasn't enough. And so, she offered to help Bo control her hunger, getting to examine her on a more personal level each time - feeling every curve of her toned body, the smoothness of her skin, warm to the touch. Those thoughts kept her alive during her confinement in a dim, unsanitary cell she camped out in for a week...or maybe it was two.

The man with the black hair slicked against his skull turned to the doctor who dared not make eye contact with him. "I presume you are ready to return to work?" The doctor nodded, not even sure she could speak. The man extended a hand, and Lauren flinched expecting another blow. It was unusual she was conscious that she walked back to her quarters. Generally she just woke up there. _What a gift, I get to humiliate myself in front of goodness knows who trying to walk. _Lauren, for the most part, forgot she was stark naked. The man handed her a black robe, presumably so blood would not show up. "There is a car upstairs. You have 12 hours to collect yourself. You are expected at 8am tomorrow morning in the lab. Goodnight, doctor." With one swift movement a rock hard fist connected with Lauren's temple.

When Lauren awoke, the clock read 6:45am exactly. As soon as she opened her eyes, she could literally feel her physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. Not to mention all of her cracked, bent, and fractured limbs. Painstakingly, the doctor got out of bed, almost collapsing as her feet touched the ground. Slowly, she moved to the bathroom and began triaging her body. Lauren started by examining her swollen face assessing the damage. Her blackened eye was nothing new but what was concerning her the most, was her fractured jaw bone. She opened her mouth just slightly and could hear the bones popping in and out of place. The taste of iron in her mouth let her know something was definitely broken. _Great, _she thought. Being a doctor she knew this would take at least a few months to heal given the severity of the break. The blonde shuddered in pain as she moved take a look at her torso. She stopped as soon as she untied the black robe. Immediately she could see her purple ribs. Trying to take in a deep relaxing breath, Lauren's fingers began to tremble due to her pain. Her expanded lungs sent shots of pain throughout her body and in her head, the words "_don't forget your dog collar_" rang through her mind.

Closing her eyes, Lauren tried to take a breath once more. The soreness she felt throughout her body would be a physical and emotional reminder of her failure to follow orders. As ward of the Ash, not very many fae talked to her unless they were directed to. Just the same, Fae Light and Dark alike wouldn't dare to lay a finger on her. Unless, she "failed to comply with orders". Lauren quickly learned that the Light Fae held themselves above the Dark, primarily on the grounds that they treated their humans with more dignity. _Funny_, Lauren thought, _I don't even have my dignity left_. This wasn't the first time she had been hurt by the hands of a dominating fae. She chuckled internally recalling that small diminishing sliver of hope she held onto. Much like her femur her will power had been broken years ago. Only a beautiful succubus could restore that, but any chances or her talking to her were out the window.

Last on the doctors list of her personal check up were her lower extremities. Her ankles were bloody and bruised from her shackles the rest of her was a consistent black/purple color. Another deep breath and a few steps later, Lauren was in the shower, trying to wash away the embarrassment. The pain, the stinging, and the broken bones she could deal with. She always had, but the humiliation was mortifying to her.

When the blonde finally stepped out of the shower she returned to her bedroom and saw a white unlabeled envelope on her desk. She eyed it as she dressed herself, cringing at her crunching bones and screaming muscles. Lastly, she went over to her dresser, opened the envelope and let the object, cool to the touch, fall into her hands. Her dog collar. Lauren closed her eyes, not wanting the mental reminder. Her shaking hands unclasped the chain and she slipped it around her neck, tears streaming down her face burning her cuts and bruises. But none of that could be seen now. To anyone she crossed paths with never would expect she was just beaten, death within reach. To them, she would look like a beautiful, clinical doctor. Because that is all she was. And that is all she would ever would be. She looked at herself in the mirror. As a doctor, a woman of science, she had to give credit to the Fae for creating such an ingenious charm. Every cut, knick, bruise, fracture, she felt it all. But could anyone see it? No. Only the Ash and his trusted subjects knew what cloaking abilities her necklace had. On her accord, she would keep it that way.

The clock read 7:46am. Lauren walked as quickly as she could - out of her room, her apartment, to the lab. Just one cage to the next, no one would have to know. No one will ever know.

The walk to the compound took much longer than Lauren anticipated. It usually took her ten minutes to walk to her lab, and that was on a slow day. Leaving with four extra minutes to spare should have been plenty of time to get to the lab, but the doctor didn't take into account the three falls she had. When she finally got into the lab, the clock read 8:07am. _Shit_, the blonde thought. Lauren looked around, mainly to make sure she was in fact conscious but also to make sure that things were still running smoothly. It was baffling to her that she, a human, had made her way to the top of the Fae medical world. And yet, she was still a slave.

Most everything was the same, the same looks of disgust, the same looks of pity. Nothing had been changed in her area of the lab; most of her experiments had been carried out by her assistant, Sauma. The Indian Fae who had been one of the few to show Lauren any real compassion. Sauma, a name of Indian descent meaning soft-natured and gentle. Lauren was well aware of the Fae politics when it came to asking someone what their abilities were, but after working with the Fae for five years she became a good guesser. Sauma's abilities were subtle, but the doctor surmised it had something to do with time and a heightened sixth sense. It was of course not her place to ask, not that it mattered much anyway. All she knew was that the Indian Fae was kind to her and on occasion they would have dinner together. Whether that was out of compassion or pity mattered not, Lauren would openly admit she enjoyed the company.

The blonde doctor made her way over to her lab station, doing her best to hide her limp at all costs. A soft voice from behind her startled, causing her to drop the folder she had in her hands, scattering papers everywhere. "Ooops," the voice said.

"Sauma, you startled me." The dark haired fae gave a sheepish smile.

"Welcome back, Lauren," she paused, "you were gone for longer than usual..." Sauma left the sentence hanging in the air unsure of what to say next. She was not going to insult the doctor's intelligence by saying that things were going to be okay, but she also wanted to comfort the doctor. Initially, Lauren kept her distance from all fae for the better part of three years. That was until Sauma walked in on her breaking down in her office. To be fair, the doctor couldn't blame the fae, she left the door ajar by accident and Sauma simply happened upon her. After that night, the dinners began and so did their friendship.

"I - uhh," the doctor hesitated for too long and instead decided to give a tight lipped smile.

"Lauren, it's me, remember?" Sauma gave Lauren and endearing smile.

"It was bad," Lauren said quietly. She could feel the tears welling up, but she wasn't going to make the mistake of crying in public again.

"Soo...dinner tonight?" Sauma asked after a long silence.

Lauren gave it some thought. "Sure," she gave a meek smile and Sauma took that her cue to leave as she had learned that the doctor needed time to process. Any efforts to try and talk to her would be futile.

Overall, Lauren's day was mundane. She saw patients as normally scheduled, she got talked to in a condescending manner, she got flustered when her test results didn't pan out and she kept to herself. The clock read 6:34pm. "Lauren...come on. It's time to go." The familiar voice echoed throughout the empty lab, "You promised me dinner, remember?"

Lauren dropped the beaker a bit harder than she intended to, but not out of anger. The small outburst however startled the fae. Sauma took a chance and laid a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Let's get you home, Lauren." The doctor said nothing. She cleared her throat and gave a curt nod. Quickly as possible, Lauren closed up her lab, swiftly locking the doors behind her. She knew she was on the verge of tears and did her best to internalize her pain. At least until she was back in her apartment.

The drive back was silent, Sauma's hybrid car was comfortable and had advanced hydraulics to limit the blow of each bumps. While Lauren had access to serums and various concoctions that could easily heal her, she didn't want to risk overloading her human body. Perhaps if she diluted the serum..._no, the serum is made to coagulate under any chemical changes_... "Lauren," a voice pulled her out of her thoughts, "are you ready?"

"Yeah," the blonde mumbled.

The apartment looked the same save for a meal laid out on the kitchen table. "I hope you don't mind, but I made some ziti before I went to pick you up." Lauren was about to protest, but her rumbling stomach gave her away. The meal they ate was almost over before Sauma finally decided to break the silence. She could tell that the whole day Lauren was trying to process, make sense of what had happened. Every time Lauren came back from her "vacations" Sauma tried to figure out what had happened. One night she gotten close to figure things out but Lauren was interrupted by a stream of tears so she thought it best not to continue her line of questioning. Sauma had not yet heard what happened to Lauren to cause her this bout of pain. Through the grapevine she heard various stories: she lied to the Ash, tried to assassinate the Ash, stole from the archives - she had heard them all, but she wanted to hear what had happened to Lauren from the doctor herself. There was no sense in guessing at this point, but the Indian fae was particularly curious as Lauren had not been put away for more than three days in a very long time. Sauma was one of the few that did her absolute best to stay out of Fae politics, but much of that changed when she met Lauren and saw her breakdown all those years ago. Since then she had carefully listened in on what passing guards were saying, asked prisoners about their treatment so on and so forth. From what she gathered, Lauren was lucky to be alive. The Light Fae maintained that they were better than the Dark because their treatment of humans was more humane. The thought alone made Sauma internally chuckle with disgust - she had seen how badly more than half of the insubordinate fae had been treated through pictures and how they were ostracized from society. In addition, the pictures were grotesque, seeing how badly beaten the fae were made her heart break. She didn't want to imagine how Lauren looked after. Sauma couldn't imagine the Fae would waste a healer on Lauren which is one reason she took it upon herself to take care of the good doctor, but she was constantly puzzled when Lauren returned scratch free. Initially, she thought Lauren used serum of her own to heal herself, but that idea was thrown out of the window when she saw that Lauren didn't dare touch a microscope months after her "vacation". Her next guess was that the Fae used some advanced mental torture which would explain Lauren's quiet state, but not her stiff movements. Each time Lauren came back, Sauma promised herself she would have the courage to ask Lauren, but each time she felt like she was making Lauren relive it and couldn't bring her that pain. She even tried to get Lauren to go see a healer, but the doctor said it was better she remembered so that she wouldn't forget her place. The words almost seemed drummed into her head, the way Lauren said it with such conviction. Over the years, the dark haired fae saw the light go out in this human, one that she had come to know and appreciate. It was revolting and how she wished she could do something, but first she needed answers.

The fae looked over at Lauren and noticed that had spent most of the meal picking at her food rather than eating it. "I thought ziti was your favorite," she said playfully. Lauren looked up through her swollen eyes, "You're scary good at that," the fae pointed out. Lauren had learned to silently cry at a young age and kept that trick up her sleeve finding it especially helpful when it came to being a slave. It seemed the fae in front of Lauren had exhausted all the words she could say, her heart ached for the poor doctor and what she had to go through. She took the cold plate from the doctor, placed it in the sink and then sat beside the blonde. "What did they do to you, Lauren?" she wondered out loud. Sauma let out a long sigh, "Why?" Nights like these usually left the Indian with more questions than answers, but that was about to change.

Lauren took a deep breath and began to explain. She explained how she came into the clutches of the Fae, Nadia, why had she had been punished before, but most importantly, Bo. "Do you how much I hate myself for loving her?" she whispered wrecked with tears. Sauma sat there, in silenced, stunned. She had never seen this side of Lauren. The side so full of emotion, passions, hopelessness.

"Where is Nadia?" the fae chanced.

"The Ash had her cursed, but I found out too late. She was on life support for three years, the time you saw me in my office...the week before I had turned off her machine. She died because of me. By cutting off the very machinery that kept her alive, I broke the agreement I had with the previous Ash and was dealt with accordingly. The best part was, I wasn't even trying to get out of my enslavement. I just didn't' want her to wake up in my mistake," Lauren paused, "to see what I had been reduced to." Sauma took a deep breath processing the overload of information she had just been given.

"Wait," Sauma said deep in thought, "doesn't that mean you're free? You have nothing to tether you to the Fae anymore."

"But I do. I have the knowledge that you all exist. The fae need me more than I need them, and yet I am still enslaved. After the Ash found out I had cut Nadia off from her life support, he made me re-pledge myself to the Light. Indefinitely."

"I understand that, the sacrifice I mean. But why realign yourself with your captors? God Lauren, how do you keep this all inside?" The doctor gave a week shrug so the the Indian carried on, "what I still don't get is why you...went on a vacation because of Bo."

"I appreciate your choice of words, but say it like it is Sauma. I was punished, brutalized, whatever you want to call, but please don't call it a vacation. It makes me think that I should have gotten worse. I had to re-pledge myself to avoid exactly that. The Ash had two guards hovered over me, if I tried to find a loophole, I wouldn't be here. ." Sauma sat there, once again stunned. If anything, this human had to be praised for her resilience. "Fine, why were you punished?" The dark haired fae still felt weird saying it in such a crude manner.

"The Ash found out I was helping Bo control her hunger. For one thing, and I quote 'it was a waste of resources and my time'. She also wanted to go after Vex. I was suppose to stop her - I didn't." Lauren kept her sentences short in an attempt to not to cry again. She felt comfortable enough with Sauma and knew that she owed the gentle fae some answers. "You've been so patient with me, I'm sorry I haven't told you any of this sooner."

"You told me when you were ready, apparently that is today. I'm glad you trust me enough to do so, Lauren." The blonde gave a curt nod and thought about the best way to continue her story.

"I slept with Bo," she practically blurted out.

"You did what?"

"To distract her," the blonde began to explain, "I slept with her and then she found out I was under orders from the Ash and I didn't mean to ruin everything and -," the last few words that came out of the doctor's mouth were too jumbled for Sauma to understand. Inevitably, tears flooded the doctor again, Sauma moved closer to Lauren, wrapping her arms around her. Instantly, the doctor felt a calm rush through her body. Her tears began to dissipate, her breathing evened out and her shoulders relaxed. Then, she screamed out in agony. Her body felt every kick, every punch, every slap she experienced in the last week.

Sauma stopped immediately. "What the hell was that?" She looked over at Lauren who was now in a fetal position.

"I appreciate the notion," she croaked out, "but if you try to heal me in any way it back fires about ten fold." Sauma looked at the doctor in amazement.

"The Fae have done a terrible number on you, haven't they?" It wasn't a question that needed a solid answer, she knew the answer. They both did. "Lauren," Sauma said sweetly as possible, "why don't I see anything? I've seen your garbage cans with blood filled gauze and yet your body...it's flawless. Beautiful, really." Without giving it much thought, Lauren took off her shirt and pants leaving her in her bra, underwear and necklace. "Not really what I had in mind..." Sauma said trying not to look at the alluring blonde in front of her.

"Just wait." Lauren looked into the fae's blue-ish brown eyes. Lauren took in a deep breath and took off her necklace. Within 30 seconds her bruises and lacerations began to show, stunning Sauma. "The Ash had the pennant enchanted. It takes away some of the pain, but leaves enough for the constant reminder of what shappened. Any break is mended with the necklace on so I can walk and carry out tasks, but as soon as I take it off..." Lauren looked at herself, again fighting tears. Sauma could barely understand what Lauren was saying due to her broken jaw. Her words were slurred together, as if she had been drinking all night. The only real reason Sauma caught what she did was because she peeked into Lauren's mind to find the doctor's true meaning. What Sauma saw and felt brought her to tears. She herself had never been subjected to any type of torture. Sure, she got the occasional slap or fall when she was younger, but from the glimpse she got into Lauren's mind allowed her to literally feel the doctor's turmoil.

"I know you've been trying to figure it out for some time. I'm a nymph-fairy hybrid. I have healing abilities from my mother's side and empathic abilities from my fathers." Lauren looked at Sauma, shocked she would give up such information. "You shared some of you, I shared some of me. Lauren...I can literally feel how much pain you're in. I can feel how broken you are, how in love you are with the succubus. How much you hate yourself for it...don't give up just yet, okay?"

Lauren just looked at the fae in front of her. She could hear the sincerity in every word Sauma spoke and knew Sauma could feel her gratitude somewhere in her. The fae looked at the broken human in front of her, kissed her forehead lightly and handed her a blanket. Tears streamed down Lauren's face, not solely out of weakness or pain this time. No, this time was about gratitude more than anything. "Let's get you to bed, shall we? It's been a long day." Lauren trudged one foot at a time, one in front of the other feeling slightly more hopeful than the hour before. Sauma looked at the beautiful woman in front of her, cuts, bruises, knicks and all. She watched the doctor put herself to bed and sat in a nearby chair until she thought the doctor had fallen asleep. It was around 12 when she felt Lauren had slipped into a dreamless sleep, "One day, let's get you out of here." Sauma slipped out of Lauren's apartment and strolled back to her car already thinking of ways to free the good doctor. _No_, she thought to herself. Friend. How to free her friend.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The only way I can continue the way I want is by assuming that all events up until now has happened in tandem with the creative license I have taken thus far. Thank you for your support and happy season premiere!

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><p>Sun broke through the curtains and poured into the room. Lauren began to stir, her bones cracking into place, her muscles initially contracting and relaxing. The blonde did not expect Sauma to still be there yet her eyes cast to the chair. It was empty. Lauren then looked to the glowing numbers. 9:21am. Oh shit, she thought. Lauren sprung up out of bed ignoring the flaring pain in her back. The concern of being late overruled Lauren's logical brain. Had she listened to it, she would realize that it was Saturday and there was no need to go into work. Of course, she did not realize this until she had painstakingly dressed herself, put on her dog collar and was headed down to the kitchen. Nothing felt worse than having to wear her necklace on a days that meant to be for her. It was rare she took off a Saturday, but for once she could admit to herself that she needed this break. Damn myself for being so weak. Once Lauren realized it was Saturday, she sat herself down trying not to get frustrated with herself. Next thing she knew, her tea filled mug was across the room and shattered and on the ground.<p>

"The ever controlled doctor, losing her temper, who would have thought?" The voice was laced with a sneer but had a playful undertone to it. Lauren knew the voice, and bothered not to look up. "What, no trying to explain anything? What a first."

"Hello to you too, Bo. What can I do for you?" the blonde quietly asked. Lauren knew better than to react impulsively to Bo. After all, that is all the succubus wanted, what she thrived off of.

Bo huffed in annoyance, "The autopsy report of that young Fae girl. I need to see that before you hand it over to," she paused, "my mate." It was only a fraction of a second but Bo could see the collected doctor flinch.

"Of course," replied the blonde. Bo smirked, still proud she could evoke such a response from the alluring blonde. The succubus watched the doctor as she went to search for the file in a much larger pile. An uncomfortable silence filled the room so Bo decided to take a shot a the doctor once more. Her eyes met with Lauren's and then realized the doctor wasn't entirely sure where the file was.

"Not as on top of things I see, but then again, I guess you compensate for that in bed." Again, nothing from the blonde, not as far as the succubus could tell at least. Lauren was thankful her back was to Bo as she could feel her throat clenching trying not to cry. Bo remained silent for another few seconds planning the next dig in her head. Bo and Dyson had made an "honest" game of seeing who could break the doctor. It was clear the brunette still had feelings for the doctor, but much of that was covered up by her snide remarks. Another rude comment was stirring in her head and she opened her mouth to push the doctor's buttons yet again; that is, until she saw the doctor's apparent limp. "What happened to your leg?" asked Bo with much more emotion than she meant.

"Nothing. Thank you for asking," the blonde said curtly. "Here is the report you want." The succubus gingerly took the file taking a few moments to look it over. In truth, all she wanted to do was stall, to see if Lauren would say anything more about her limp but the doctor said nothing. "Bo?"

"What," snapped the succubus.

"I asked if that was all."

"No actually," Bo was clearly upset at Lauren's lack of willingness to explain her her hurting limb. "I would like to know why you are limping." Bo paused, knowing it would be a reach, but curiosity got the better of her, "If you don't tell me I will be forced to tell the Ash about your lack of cooperation." The blonde's jaw visibly clenched as she contemplated the best way to answer Bo.

"Lauren, I was wondering how you were feeling last night, I figured you'd need your rest after last night - do you want to grab coffee?" Bo's head whipped around to identify the voice coming from the door. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you had company, the door was open I was worried I didn't close the it all the way last night." Lauren let out a slow and steady breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Who are you," the succubus asked her eyes turning blue in frustration.

"You're Bo," the voice hardened as the name rolled off her tongue. "My name is Sauma, I am a colleague of Dr. Lewis." The succubus smirked as an idea ran through her head. Bo threw on a shit eating smile and began to introduce herself.

"Oh, hi! I feel bad that Lauren never mentioned you. She seems to have a habit of disregarding other people. Lauren, why didn't you tell me you had a guest last night? Is that why you aren't walking straight?" Lauren said nothing in response. Instead, she was busy trying to figure out what Bo was doing and why her personality flipped so suddenly.

"It was a private affair," Sauma said trying to be polite as possible. "If you don't mind, please see yourself out, Dr Lewis and I have business to attend to."

"I don't mind at all, it's clear you two have matters to discuss." Bo began to make her way out, but stopped at the door frame. "I should warn you, this one hardly keeps her affairs private." With that, the succubus left Lauren's apartment, file in hand, smirking to herself.

"So...that was Bo huh?" Lauren made an audible sound that barely acknowledged what the Indian fae had said. Instead, she focused on clearing the tea that had spilled and the shattered cup in the corner. Lauren then felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, trying to shrug Sauma off. "Please let me help you."

Lauren paused. "How?" she asked trying to maintain a calm voice.

"Let me feed off of you," Sauma spoke quietly, with caution. She wasn't sure how Lauren was going to react - the doctor was silent. "You don't need to do anything, just sit there, relax. You'll probably feeling panic at first, but that should subside."

"It won't work, you can't remember?"

"But that's only for physical pain, right?"

"I tried...to forget. I use to be friends with...it doesn't matter. He got me a serum to make me forget Nadia, everything except the science. Bo - I tried. I took the serum. He was with me and as soon as I swallowed, it felt like my body was on fire and then...I don't remember. He said I threw up. A lot. I forgot most everything for a few days and I was going to take it again, even if that meant losing my stomach contents once more. But then, Jared...he wasn't at work anymore. I got a letter from the Ash saying that he had been...dealt with. If I didn't turn over the rest of the serum I would be too." It was Sauma's turn to be silent. "I know you're trying to be nice and helpful, but I've accepted this as my life, you should too."

"How, Lauren? How am I suppose to accept that you are subjugated and tormented by the people who are supposed to take care of you."

"You have to be," Lauren stated matter of factly. Sauma gave a tight lipped smile saddened by how much Lauren had sacrificed and lost.

"Can I take you somewhere?" Lauren raised an eyebrow, "I'd like you to meet my family."

"Wow, meeting the parents already," the doctor joked. That made her colleague smile.

"Not like that," the dark haired fae responded, blushing slightly. Lauren considered the offer, but was hesitant to accept. After some time she responded, "Okay, but not like this, okay?" The blonde needed not to elaborate; Sauma gave a saddened smile and nodded her head, accepting the blonde's terms.

The pair was quiet once more, "Do you want to talk about it? Bo, I mean."

The doctor took a deep breath, "You know, I helped her save Dyson. Three times actually. Once when he was convicted of murder. I worked a straight 30 hours trying to find anomalies in his bite from another wolf's. Again, when the Una Mens rolled into town. They accused him of a thousand year old murder, saved Bo in that too. Even tied the red string of fate to myself just because I knew her stupid memories were melding together. I thought it was a one way trip in, in truth, I kind of hoped it was."

"Hold on, you tied the red string of fate to yourself, humans are not meant to be in someone's subconscious -no offence- how did you get out?"

"She kissed me," replied Lauren with a saddened smile.

"True love's kiss," the Indian fae blurted before she could stop herself.

"Hmm," Lauren nonchalantly remarked. "In some of the original texts, those women were awoken when they were raped by way of an evil being that fed off of sexual energy." Sauma looked at Lauren dumbfoundead.

"Ever the romantic are we not?" Lauren shrugged as images of her working tirelessly to help Bo control her hunger. The butterflies she got in her stomach knowing that the succubus had to come in for an appointment soon and that genuine smile she received after saving Kenzi from the basilisk poison. Not to forget the time she saved Bo, Kenzi and Hale from the Djieiene… "Uhm, Lauren?"

"Huh?" the blonde was snapped out of her thoughts. Sauma smiled slightly shaking her head, all too aware of Lauren's thoughts, or at least her emotions.

"I asked you about the third time..."

"Oh, that...Bo may or may not have chi sucked me to save Dyson's life after her Dawning." An alarmed look was plastered on Sauma's face.

"She what?!"

"I mean, it wasn't just me. It was Kenzi, Trick and Stella too."

"Lauren, that doesn't make it okay."

The doctor shrugged, trying to pass it off as nothing. "It is what it is. I've lost and the sooner I can accept that, the easier it will be to move forward."

Just then, Sauma's phone went off. The hybrid looked down at it with an annoyed expression, "Sorry, I need to take this." Lauren did her best to give Sauma some privacy, but her agitated tone was grounds for suspicion. "No you will not," she heard the fae say in a harsh whispers. "Why, because I said so," she continued, "I don't care, just make it happen." Lauren then heard the fae whisper something in another language. From her limited cultural anthropological studies, it sounded like Indian, but a part of the dialect that had been dead for centuries. Curious, Lauren thought to herself. Sauma angrily hung up the phone and reentered the room. "I'm sorry about that, family issues."

"No need to apologize, I didn't realize how much time had passed, I did not mean to keep you."

"This, Lauren, has got to stop. The whole you not valuing yourself may be acceptable around others, but not me okay? So smile, remind yourself how awesome you are and let you walls down. It's just me, remember?" Lauren smiled at the unwarranted kindness.

"Thank you," she breathed out. Sauma placed a gentle kiss on Lauren's for head and made her exit leaving Lauren all by her lonesome once more. Though this time the silence felt different. It felt comfortable and the doctor would take that for now.

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><p>AN: I apologize this is a bit shorter than I wanted it to be but stress has been occupying my life and I've only had minimal amounts of time to write. That said, I will go through and edit the chapter at some point and to those of you that follow NBJB, I will be updating that in the near future. Once again, thank you for your support. Cheers, lostshadowthief.


	3. Chapter 3

Bo let out a heavy sigh, allowing the tension of what just transpired wash over her. She let her mind wander as she casually sipped the scotch in her hand. It was almost a year to date that her father set his own plans in motion to quite literally ruin her life by jeopardizing the one she loved, influencing her every decision. While she didn't know it at the time, his plan was to eliminate each and every one of her family members through emotional turmoil. Dyson and Lauren were the easiest. After he sent her on a rampage ending her up in Heccuba, she would "chose" Lauren, subsequently breaking her heart. Dyson would feel betrayed and she would lose his trust. Kenzi was a bit trickier, but arguably he succeeded when Kenzi thrust herself into the Cinvat… Bo later found out that Massimo, though Evony's son, was hired and funneled information by her father which is how the druid became so familiar with the Fae world and got the upper hand against Hale. Tamsin, was the wild card as Bo's father knew that the valkyrie had betrayed him when she grew attached to his daughter as so many had. Lucky for him, Tamsin also happened to be attached to her former mentor which he tried to use as an upper hand - literally. To say the least, it was a convoluted plan that failed in the end thanks to Aife surprisingly enough. _*thwack*_ A light hand playfully landed on Bo's shoulder. "What'cha thinkin' about Bo-bear?" Kenzi's light hearted voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"My father." the succubus spoke grimly. The Russian raised an eyebrow in question. "His power was enough to -"

A nimble hand clamped over Bo's mouth. "Stop right there, Bo. You saved me, you saved everyone." Bo was quiet, "I'm sorry I couldn't get Hale back for you." Kenzi gave the brunette a tight lipped smile.

"I'd rather be with you, plus Joan of Arc is such a drama queen. You would not believe." The mood lightened as the night progressed, but Bo couldn't help but shake her feelings about what happened. Once Kenzi passed out from too much vodka, though we would argue there could never be too much vodka, Bo sat in bed staring at her phone. Before she knew it, she was scrolling through the messages her and Lauren exchanged while they were "together."

_L: Whatever is happening to you, know you are not a monster. You are a woman that I _

_have loved for a very long time and I don't believe that I will love anyone as I do you._

_L: I think I found something that will slow down your cells. Do you remember when I suspended Lachlan's venom? Never mind, please come to the lab when you can. xox, Lo._

It was after that specific injection that Bo began to become aware of her father's influence on herself and her Dawning. She tried to fight it, but her inner self was too weak at that point so she had to idly stand by as her poisoned mind and body hurt that ones she loved. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about any of it, especially when it came to Lauren. She was incredibly angry at the blonde for sleeping with her under the suggestion of the Ash, but some part of her understood. After all, a quiet part could admit she would have done the same thing.

Moments like these made Bo really think about why she treated Lauren as she did. Immediately she kicked herself for threatening the blonde saying that she would tell the Ash she had been "disobedient". She also wondered how life would be like if her Dawning played out as it should have. Unbeknownst to the shifter himself, Bo's father sent a messenger into the Dawning pushing Dyson to alter what was suppose to happen. Some part of her succubus self knew that her Dawning was suppose to close with the death of Dyson, but (as Bo would pride herself) she found a loophole once again. Some innate part of Bo knew that she swayed towards Dyson because it was the safe option. Lauren was complicated, Dyson was not. If anything, while she was the influence of her father she learned that Lauren and her did not work as a couple, she could not sustain herself on a human...a toned, strong, beautiful - _stop._ She scolded herself, continuing to nurse her scotch. Just then, she felt a wave of emotion hit her unlike anything else. She doubled over and could barely contain the tears streaming from her eyes. It felt as if someone was stabbing her in the heart relentlessly, not bothering to stop when she cried out. Bo couldn't tell how much time had passed but when her breathing began to regulate itself she found herself in a fetal position on the ground. "Have you had enough?" came a voice. Bo's hand reached to her bed where she kept a knife under her pillow but before it could get there, the heel of a shoe trapped her arm. Bo went to chi suck the intruder but found it only made her hurt more. Defeated, she relaxed under the weight of the shoe and the words, ready to accept whatever came next. She silently prayed that Kenzi would wake up, but to no avail. "Shit," the voice said again, "not exactly how I envisioned this going." Bo relaxed a bit, she knew the voice.

"Sauma?" she spoke, almost afraid the darkness of the room would swallow her voice. A low grumble was all she got back.

"Here, I'm sorry let me help you." The Indian fae began to push chi into the succubus.

"What are you," Bo questioned not bothering to think about how rude the question was in the Fae world.

Sauma bothered not to give it any thought, she knew Bo was a succubus, a powerful one at that, While she wanted the upper hand she knew it was only fair that Bo knew her abilities. "An empath and a healer. Nymph-Fairy hybrid officially. It's why I can force chi into you, the healer part of me can at least."

"Yeah, I got that," Bo responded harshly, "What are you doing here and what's with the entrance?"

Sauma sat down, invited or not, on Bo's bed. "Well," she began, but was quickly cut off by an impatient succubus.

"Did Lauren send you, because if she did -."

"You don't shut up do you?" asked the elder fae clearly annoyed. "No, she didn't send me, but I'm here because you and I need to have a little chat about the lovely doctor."

"Lauren is of no concern to me."

"Oh yeah? And who are you trying to convince, you or me? You're a selfish brute, you know that?" Bo's eyes flashed a dangerous blue in response to Sauma's not so outrageous observation. "Put them away, baby succubus. I've been around a lot longer than you have been and you _really_ don't want to mess with people you don't know about." To make a point, Sauma's eyes flash a deadly blood orange which seemed to get the point across to Bo. "Allow me to introduce myself formally," the Indian's voice boomed in Bo's ear but couldn't be louder than a whisper, "I am Sauma Katoch of the Rajput clan. My family is one of the Original 12 that founded and preserve the sanctity of all that is Fae. If you cross me or harm the ones I love, punishment will be most -" Sauma's eyes lost their orange fire, "let's just hope it doesn't get to that, shall we?"

It felt as if the room dropped a solid 20 degrees leaving Bo speechless reduced to a small nod to answer the elder fae in front of her.

"Good, well, I am glad we got that settled. Now, where's the liquor? I have a feeling this is going to be a long night." Bo sighed and handed Sauma a glass not bothering if it was clean or not. Sauma poured herself a full glass of scotch and downed it as if it was nothing. "Damn, that's some good stuff." Bo grunted in agreement waiting for Sauma to talk. "She loves you, you know." The succubus was still but eventually gave a small nod. "And you love her," Sauma spoke cautiously knowing the subject was tricky. Bo stared at Sauma with a look of disbelief which quickly turned to anger and finally subsided to acceptance. Sauma could quite literally feel the succubus' heart soften when she mentioned Lauren's name and let out a frustrated groan. "You are so damn stubborn you know that?" Bo nodded feeling the guilt crash down on her all at once. Knowingly, Sauma stared at her. "I know it hurts you when you see her, why can't you just love her like she deserves to be loved?" Sauma knew the answer so when Bo shrugged which made Sauma flinch with disbelief. "Do bear in mind I am an empath, succubus."

"If you're an empath then why do I have to say it?" Bo bit back.

"Because you're being selfish, you know that and someone needs to tell you how much of a brat you're being."

"Lauren...she deserves better than someone who can't be monogamous with her. Someone who will love her more than I ever could."

"You're an idiot. There is no one who loves you more than she does. No one that I've come across at least."

Bo thought a moment before responding, "Did she tell you that we were actually together for a while?"

"She did, but more importantly than that, I felt it. I felt her happiness being in your arms, even when you weren't. I felt her giddiness when she won her award for free radicals, her disappointment when you didn't bother show up for the ceremony, her doubt about your feelings about her. I felt her heartbreak when she found out you screwed Dyson, kissed Tamsin and put her last. I felt her self-hatred knowing she would never be enough for you...you felt it too." Bo gave Sauma a questioning look, "You felt it when I first entered. I wanted you to know how much damage and heartbreak you've caused this woman." Bo looked up in shock, her face contorted into an unreadable expression. Bo was absolutely baffled that she could have hurt someone that much, let alone the fact someone could contain all of that hurt, sorrow and displeasure.

"Why wouldn't she tell me?"

Sauma gave Bo a pointed look, "After you didn't bother to show up to her award ceremony, after you threatened her to tell the Ash she was insubordinate? Gee, Bo, I wonder why." Bo released a heavy sigh.

"So how do I make this better?" Sauma thought a bit, unsure of how to answer the question.

"That's for you to figure out, baby succubus."

With that, the Indian fae stood up, downed the rest of her scotch and left leaving Bo to her thoughts. _Well damn._

"Kenz!" The succubus called out into darkened house unsure if the human was even awake. She waited a while and right before she was ready to retire, a grumbling raven haired woman appeared.

"There better be a **damn** good reason you're getting me up right now." Bo looked Kenzi with a blank look, unsure if she should send the frazzled human back to bed. Before she could say anything, the human picked up on Bo's saddened state. "What's going on Bobo, are you still thinking about your father?"

"Lauren," she said matter of factly. Even in the dim light Bo could see the look of surprise that crossed her best friend's face. "I love her," the brunette admitted. Again, Kenzi said nothing thinking it was best to let Bo talk. In truth, the human knew Lauren was the one Bo let get away. Yes, Lauren screwed her over when she slept with Bo, but she could see that Lauren did it out of love and protection, nothing else. Retrospectively, Kenzi knew she should have spoken up, but the succubus was determined to stay with Dyson.

Easy? Yes.

Selfish? Probably.

Love? Not a chance.

Kenzi knew all of this, but wanted to support Bo knowing how heart broken her friend was. The brunette could feel Kenzi's mind churning, "You knew, didn't you?"

Kenzi drew in a deep breath, "We all did, sweetie." Bo glared at her friend, astonished by her bluntness.

"If everyone knew why didn't anyone tell me? Why didn't Lauren fight for me?" Kenzi knew that she didn't take too kindly to the doctor at first, unsure of her intentions but it didn't take long for the human to realize the blonde was in the right - not to mention helplessly in love with her best friend.

"Would you have listened to us?" _Probably not,_ the brunette thought. Kenzi nodded unsure of what else to say.

"Do you think - we could maybe go over to Lauren's tomorrow? I mean, I'll go, but you too for - ya know, support and stuff?"

"I'm picking up what you're putting down, Bobolicious. Tomorrow, it's a date! Now, this one has to go get ready for that possibile shit storm, I shall see you then!" With that, Kenzi left Bo in her room once more, alone.

Tonight was going to be a long 12 hours.


	4. Author's Note

Firstly, I would like to take this time to thank everyone for the reviews, favorites and follows. All of which have kept me invested in the story and providing constructive criticism. That said, I would like to clear up the timeline. I realize the summary I posted was weak and easily led to confusion which is a mistake on my part. My intentions were to have all of the events that have happened thus far happen, remaining cannon. My personal twists of the enchanted necklace, the character of Sauma, all my own of course. I hope this clears things up, I'm sorry for the confusion! Once I post a new chapter, this note will most likely come down. Thanks once again, if you have any questions - leave a review or feel free to PM me!

Kindly,  
>thelostshadowthief<p> 


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